Full Description
The National Barn Dance was the nation's most popular country music radio show during the 1930s and 1940s. The pioneering radio program defined country and western entertainment until the Grand Ole Opry and rock 'n' roll supplanted it in the 1950s. Broadcast for more than three decades from Chicago on WLS's powerful 50,000-watt signal, the show reached listeners throughout the Midwest, the East Coast, and South, delivering popular entertainment to both rural and urban areas while celebrating the fading folk traditions of an increasingly urbanized America. The Hayloft Gang draws on the colorful commentary of performers and former listeners to analyze the National Barn Dance, its audience, and its impact. Contributors trace the history of barn dance radio, explore the paradox of a foundational country music program broadcast from a major city, investigate notions of authenticity in the presentation of country music and entertainment, and delve into provocative issues raised by the barn dance phenomenon.
Contributors: Chad Berry, Michael T. Bertrand, Lisa Krissoff Boehm, Don Cusic, Wayne W. Daniel, Loyal Jones, Kristine M. McCusker, Stephen Parry, Susan Smulyan, Paul L. Tyler, and Michael Ann Williams.
Contents
Foreword Loyal Jones vii Acknowledgments xi
Introduction: Assessing the National Barn Dance Chad Berry 1 1. The Rise of Rural Rhythm Paul L. Tyler 19 2. Music of the Postwar Era Wayne W. Daniel 72 3. Chicago as Forgotten Country Music Mecca Lisa Krissoff Boehm 101 4. Early Broadcasting and Radio Audiences Susan Smulyan 119 5. Race and Rural Identity Michael T. Bertrand 130 6. Patriarchy and the Great Depression Kristine M. McCuscker 153 7. Cowboys in Chicago Don Cusic 168 8. The National Folk Festival Michael Ann Williams 187 Afterword Stephen Parry 199 Contributors 205
Index 207
